2023-08-13 14:35:47
Greek supporters will not be able to compete with the Marseille Ultras at the Vélodrome. Panathinaikos fans are banned from going to Marseille on Tuesday during the third preliminary round of the Champions League, according to a decree issued by the Minister of the Interior, published in the Official Journal on Sunday. On the first leg last Wednesday, OM lost (1-0), without the support of their supporters.
“From midnight to midnight, the individual or collective movement, by any means, of any person claiming to be a supporter of Panathinaikos or behaving as such, is prohibited between the French road, rail, port and airport border points of on the one hand, and the municipality of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), on the other hand”, indicates this decree.
The Ministry of the Interior considers that there is “a real and serious risk of a confrontation between the supporters of the two clubs”. He argues that “the movements of Panathinaikos are regularly a source of public order disturbances” because of the “violent behavior of some of the supporters of this team (…)”, leading to brawls or the throwing of pyrotechnic devices. Such events occurred during a match against PAOK Salonika on May 21, 2022, or August 4 in Prague.
The Interior fears that the meeting at the Stade Vélodrome will be “an opportunity to exacerbate these behaviors”. The risk is “all the more proven that some supporters” of Olympique de Marseille “also frequently adopt violent behavior”, continues the decree. Last week, during the first leg in the Greek capital, the movement of Marseille supporters, linked by an old friendship to those of AEK Athens, rivals of Panathinaikos, was banned by UEFA.
The atmosphere was also terribly weighed down by the death of a young AEK fan, who was stabbed on August 7 during clashes with supporters of Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb on the eve of the scheduled match between the two teams and eventually postponed.
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